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Suspected arson guts Mobile business, 'right now there are 8 people without a job'

american auto body and paint oct 14 2013.jpg

Around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 14, 2013, fire investigators with the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department continue to investigate a suspected arson which gutted a Mobile, Ala., auto paint and body shop on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. Fire marshals told the owner of American Auto Painting & Body Repair on Springhill Avenue that the building, which the company had occupied since 2008, was likely a total loss. (Theresa Seiger/tseiger@al.com)

MOBILE, Alabama -- Two explosions could be heard Sunday
night after firefighters say a blaze was intentionally started at American Auto
Painting & Body Repair following a burglary.

By 10:30 a.m. Monday, fire investigators were still on the
scene of the blaze which was first reported around 9 p.m. Sunday at the
business on Springhill Avenue, said owner Tim Morris.

"They have to make sure it's structurally sound,"
Morris said. "I've never thought this could ever happen."

View full sizeA suspected arson fire started before 9 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, caused an estimated $500,000 worth of damage to American Auto Painting and Body Repair, a company which has been on Springhill Avenue since 2008. (Theresa Seiger/tseiger@al.com)

Fire marshals told Morris the building, occupied by the company
since 2008, is likely a loss. It appears to have been started after a burglary
or attempted burglary and set by the perpetrators to cover the crime, said
Steve Huffman, public information officer for the Mobile Fire-Rescue
Department.

The fire is estimated to have caused $500,000 worth of
damage. At least six cars, which Morris said belong to customers, were set ablaze.

"Right now there are eight people without a job,"
Morris said.

The fire was mostly contained to the side of the business
which handles paint requests.

"There was a dividing wall, so some of the stuff wasn't
a total loss," Morris said.

When firefighters arrived Sunday night, they encountered
heavy smoke and fire coming from the roof of the business, Huffman said. Two
fire trucks, four fire engines, a rescue unit and District Chief Steve Zirlott
responded to the call.

Firefighters were still working on cooling hot spots and
smoldering patches of the building when Morris arrived on scene around 10:30
p.m. Sunday.

"You know, you build this for five years and it takes
five minutes to take (it) away from you," Morris said.

When fire investigators turn the building over to Morris and
his employees, they will be tasked with finding a way to secure and seal the
building to prevent further damage or burglaries, Morris said.

Anyone with information on the fire can contact the MFRD
Bureau of Fire Prevention at 251-208-7484 or the Arson Tip Line at 251-208-MFRD
(6373).